BudgetTravel

• Atlantic Plaza 425 S. Atlantic Ave., New Smyrna Beach, 386/427-4636, atlanticplaza.net, from $100

Food

St. Augustine Alligator Farm (Lauren Keenan)

• Bunnery Bakery 121 St. George St., St. Augustine, 904/829-6166
• Old Flagler House 414 Flagler Ave., New Smyrna Bch., 386/426-2080, crab cakes $8

Activities

• Marineland 9600 Ocean Shore Blvd., St. Augustine, 904/471-1111, marineland.net, $5, programs from $65
• Daytona 500 Experience 386/947-6800, daytonausa.com, $24, kids $19

DAY 4
As we drive down Route 1, lovebugs--so called because they fly in pairs--fill the sky, sounding like hail as they splatter on the windshield. Every car at John F. Kennedy Space Center has a five o'clock shadow of lovebug guts on its grille.

I figured that since the Center charges for kids 3 and up, there'll be stuff for Will to do. But we make it through only 10 minutes of an IMAX movie, and checking out the shuttle Explorer doesn't take long. No way can we deal with a two-hour bus tour.

The new Shuttle Launch Experience is off-limits to kids under four feet tall, but it's included in my admission, so I decide to give it a go. After a former astronaut on a video screen preps riders with astro-jargon, the ride turns us on our backs and I feel a pressure on my cheeks reminiscent of being on a roller coaster. The launch ends with a peaceful view of the earth.

Will, Owen, and I pose for a photo with our heads poking through a cutout that makes us look like astronauts, and then we walk toward the Rocket Garden, where real rockets are standing upright. Will has been completely jazzed about the rockets from the moment he spied them. But first, we make an important detour: There's a fantastic playground on the way.

Activities

• Kennedy Space Center 321/449-4444, kennedyspacecenter.com